A few years back Cathryn Norris let go of her Dover Violin&Fiddle Studio, her students, and performing with the Angel Band to focus on staying alive.

Over a period of five years she fought cancer and the effects of its cures, which made her sicker still, dealt with the loss of her marriage and filed for bankruptcy.

The morning before her interview, Norris wrote down a summary of her current state to share.

"I recreated my world, my life and my health and body, my calling and passion and now all these things are woven together in a fantastic tapestry," she says. "That's exactly how I see it. I see my life today as a fantastic tapestry."

Three years ago Norris went public with her health struggle. At that time she set a vision for her future, determined to turn her life around. Shortly thereafter, she lost her newly reopened studio and home. Since then, she's fought to turn it all around, which is exactly what she did, she says.

"It's been a miraculous change in three years," she says. "Miraculous."

After losing her Dover home, Norris moved to South Berwick, Maine. Shortly after she went studio hunting. Two years ago she moved her business, now the Violin&Fiddle Studio at Salmon Falls and its few remaining students to a 400 square foot space in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford. Within a year she expanded into the adjacent studio for a total of 700 square feet.

"So basically I went from studio homelessness to having a 700 square foot studio," she says. "I went from nothing to the most beautiful studio I have ever had in my life."

Her studio offers a full range of programs, including instruction in the Mark O'Connor Method for beginners (6 to 106), and several other methods, with traditional classical and Celtic styles. Norris, a true O'Connor enthusiast, received her teaching certification in the method this week.

"I'm back on full range of studio programs and far beyond what I've done in the past," she says.

There are adult studio soirees a few times a year, accompanied by studio guitarist Jim Prendergast."

"It's for those adults that don't want a public performance in front of an audience. This is a way for them to gain confidence."

There are workshops and adult and children's programs, both private and group.

And Norris is back performing. This summer was her third at the Carolan Festival in Worcester, Vt. She's also reunited with Mary and Bob Paul, Celtic harp and hammered dulcimer players respectfully, two of the original Angel Band members. Today they comprise the Celtic Café Trio.

"We're going to be doing freelance performing but also — coming back to the music of (Turlough) O'Carolan — I think we want to be a Carolan ensemble — because we love it."

The trio has performed publicly ("Our first thing was a funeral"), and plans to do more in the future.

She's also returned to composing, writing counter melodies and harmonies to O'Carolan's work. "That was something that was very important in my life. My goal is to compose those counter melodies for the majority of those tunes and secondly to publish a music book with the melodies and certainly to record all of them. That is what I'm looking to do."

Norris is often found playing at RiRa Irish Pub in Portsmouth on Sunday nights. RiRa's music sessions have played a significant part in her becoming a fully involved professional musician again, she says. She's back, she adds — including her health.

"If someone were to ask me what helped me to get so far in such a short amount of time I would say it would be my faith and my food. I'm organic now. And I'm healthy," she says. "I have not been sick one day in three years. ...; Now I want to encourage others, encourage them to be healthy to take care of themselves and follow their dreams."

"There's a Japanese proverb 'each step is the place to learn,'" she adds. "And that's how I felt moving so slowly toward my vision. ...; I held to that vision."